


It Comes And Goes In Waves

by nannersmelo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Gifted (Movie 2017), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bearded Steve Rogers because I can, Eventual angst since Tony is struggling with feelings in general, Fluff, Getting Back Together, M/M, Other, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Parent-Trap AU, Pining, Protective Steve Rogers, Superfamily (Marvel), Tony Stark Needs a Hug, gifted AU, he's going through some rough times, lots of hugs, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2020-11-22 11:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20873816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nannersmelo/pseuds/nannersmelo
Summary: Morgan Stark and Mary Rogers become best friends when Mary steps up to defend her new friend from a bully, and the girls are surprised to discover that their daddies not only know each other, but also share a history neither seem ready to let go of.Morgan is determined, and wants her daddy to be happy.Mary is overprotective, and always wanted a sister.Thus, operation "Our Daddies Belong Together" is born.





	1. first impressions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rebekah (@bestdefnder)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Rebekah+%28%40bestdefnder%29).

> Hiya. I'm back again. With another Au. 
> 
> *laughs nervously* This is Rebekah's fault.
> 
> ANYWAYS............. I kinda just brainstormed this entire idea with Rebekah (@bestdefnder) at twitter and I just NEEDED to write this. The idea was just so damn sweet, and I love these two girlies so much that I just needed to write something with them as the stars of it, thus, whatever this is was born fmlkaemflamlkeg
> 
> A quick explanation of how things are going to happen here, though: Morgan won't be Pepper's daughter. I didn't want to change that, since I wanted her to remain Tony and Pepper's due how much she is a mix of those two, but placing Pep as her mom in this story would make things a bit difficult for the plot, so I decided to let Pepper as the very caring and present Aunt Pep and keep Morgan's mom out of the picture. I needed Morgan's mom to be neglectful in this story, and there is NO WAY my goddess Pepper would ever be that kind of woman, so I had to change things a lil bit. Hope y'all don't mind it much.
> 
> CASE IN POINT, the story is basically this: Morgan and Mary will be secret lil agents trying to get their daddies together again, so they'll be filled with little plans and be up to no good until those two come in terms with their feelings. It sounded real fucking cute, and tbh, I love Rebekah for prompting this lol THIS IS FOR YOU, YOU CRAZY ANGSTY STEVETONY THAT INSISTS ON RIPPING MY HEART OUT.
> 
> Phew, anyways, enjoy!
> 
> PS: Unbeta'ed, so please forgive mistakes. English ain't my native language, but I'll keep fixing whenever I spot any!
> 
> PSS: It may sound silly in the beginning but... it is the POV of a gifted 6 year old, so I suppose it should be a bit silly lol.

Morgan held back the urge to yawn for the third time in the last ten minutes. Her teacher kept going on and on about animals and how to spell their names, and there was no doubt Morgan _loved _animals - she was currently in the process of convincing her big brother to try and convince her daddy to give them a puppy -, but the slow pace in which Mrs. Maximoff was using in order to coax the other kids to repeat after her was just _painful_.

She already knew how to spell the name of the animals. Her daddy always took time from his busy schedule to teach her about everything her little sponge of a brain could absorb, and it she _loved _every single second of it. It was incredibly fun to be taught about all kind of things by her incredibly smart daddy, since he always made little jokes and found interesting ways of introducing each subject to her, while in school everything was just… terribly boring. Mrs. Maximoff was great, and Morgan had no complaints about the sweet kindergaten teacher, but she just couldn’t see the appeal of the woman’s teaching methods. It was unfair though, after all, _nobody _could be compared to her awesome daddy.

She just didn’t understand why her aunty Pep was so demanding about her going to school. Daddy was heavily against it, and they had fought over and over again over the decision. She always spoke about how important it was for Morgan to be around other kids her age, but Morgan didn’t quite understand why that was so important, since it has been a bit of time already and the young girl had yet to make any friends.

Morgan was just… not being able to connect with the other kids. During playtime, the girls preferred to play with dolls and pretend they were mommies, which Morgan had nothing against, but wasn’t really much of her taste. She was more fond of plushies - Rilakkuma, in specific - and robots, like the ones her daddy used to make. The other girls, however, always looked at her weird whenever she mentioned her friends U and DUM-E, so after the third failed attempt, she just stopped trying altogether.

The boys were a no-go as well. Even though they shared most of her tastes, they never really wanted to play with her since she was a girl, and some - like Duncan - were particuarly mean to her due something to do with his parents disliking her daddy. He constantly teased and picked on her, either about her intelligence or about her daddy, but she refused to cry in front of him or anyone else. Her daddy had told her once that Starks were made of iron, and while it’s alright to be vulnerable around people that care about you, you must _never _show others your tears, because people can be _really _mean if given the opportunity, and Morgan was stronger than any of them. She was proud to hear that from her daddy, and took his advice to heart, but it didn’t change the fact that it still hurt how lonely she felt whenever the girls refused her or the boys picked on her.

She never told daddy, however. Just recently he started to feel better - uncle Obie’s betrayal hurt him really bad - and started to accept the fact she needed to attend to school. She didn’t like it, and would much rather stay with him at all times, but she couldn’t be selfish right now. Daddy had a lot of work now that he couldn’t rely on uncle Obie anymore, and the only person who was helping him was aunt Pep, so Morgan didn’t want them arguing about her situation anymore. He daddy would be overwhelmed with worry if he knew of what she was enduring, not to mention how bad he would feel to know she was being picked on due who he was - Morgan was _really _perceptive for a little girl of her age, and she knew her daddy wasn’t great with dealing with guilt -, so she really didn’t want to worry him more.

Not to mention _that guy_. She scrunched up her nose. At least at school she didn’t need to see his dumb scary face.

A knock interrupted Morgan’s wandering thoughts and the sloth paced lesson, and she rose her head just in time to watch the school’s monitor - a cool but scary looking lady called Mrs. Romanoff - appear on the door and ask to speak with their teacher. Mrs. Maximoff went to her and they started to speak in hushed tones, until Mrs. Maximoff opened a bright smile and nodded eagerly. Mrs. Romanoff then nodded and proceeded to leave, leaving Mrs. Maximoff to turn her pretty smile to the rest of the class and clap her hands excitedly, “I have great news, sweethearts! Seems we’ll be getting a new friend to join our little class. Isn’t that exciting?”

The kids surrounding her all perked up and smiled happily at the idea of getting a new friend, but Morgan just pouted and sunk lower on her plush chair. She was hoping something awesome and out of the ordinary would finally happen to make her day less boring, but apparently she was wrong - it was just another new student who would probably ignore or make fun of her, so she failed to be as interested and excited as the rest of the class.

As if on cue, the door opened again, and in came the new student accompanied by Mrs. Romanoff. Morgan rose her look once more to meet the newcomer, and found herself tilting her head slightly. The new girl didn’t seem shy and out of place like most new students got. Instead, she had an annoyed expression and a frown that screamed she wanted to be _anywhere _but where she currently was. Morgan felt some interest unfurl inside her little heart. _I was like that in the first day, too!_

Mrs. Romanoff guided the new girl towards Mrs. Maximoff, and after a quick nod, she turned around and left from whence she came. Mrs. Maximoff’s smile hadn’t dimmed even a bit, and as she placed a hand on top of the new girl’s golden hair - it was so pretty! - she addressed the class once more, “Darlings, this is Mary Sarah Rogers. Please be kind and welcome her with open arms, yes?”

The class chorused an agreement and then an excited greeting towards Mary, who just grasped the straps of her backpack tighter and narrowed her bright blue eyes at everyone. “Hi”, she whisper greeted back, seeming awfully unsure of herself, and Morgan couldn’t help but to wince a little bit in sympathy fot the girl’s uneasiness. Yes, Mary was truly just as uncomfortable as she had been on her first day.

After the greetings, Mrs. Maximoff told Mary to go along and pick a seat for herself after she hung her backpack - which had Morgan interally gasping, since it was a _Rilakkuma _backpack - and once the girl hung it on one of the colorful hooks on one of the classroom’s walls, she went for a seat across Morgan and sullenly sat down; frown never leaving her forehead.

Morgan offered her a sheepish smile and a little wave, to which the girl stared confused for a moment, until she replicated the gesture. Wouldn’t hurt to try and be friendly, right? If she seemed as uncomfortable as Morgan normally felt, maybe they could become friends eventually, right?

“Alright, now, it’s time for math!” Mrs. Maximoff piped in, erasing the blackboard and starting to write down her numbers. After a few scribbles that resulted on a simple problem of how much is 5+5, she turned back at the class and asked, “So, who would like to give a try today?”

Morgan scrunched up her nose and and lowered her eyes to her colorful notebook. Math classes were the _worst, _and don’t get her wrong - Just like animals, Morgan actually _loved_ numbers, since her daddy just had this magic way of making _anything _sound interesting and really fun, mainly math, since he had to use it a lot to make his inventions and programs, but at school? It was just _torture. _Morgan already had contact with things such as percentages and even the pythagoras theorem, much for her daddy’s pride and delight, so how exactly something silly and easy such as a 5+5 problem would be interesting to her?

A hand rose into the air, and then Morgan heard Mary answer, “10”

“Very good, Mary!” Mrs. Maximoff praised, “Now, we will-”

But Mary continued, “Can we move along the subjects?” she asked, earning a surprised look from Mrs. Maximoff, “I already know how to sum. Will be boring to learn about that again.”

Morgan’s eyes widened as she marveled at the fact that Mary had just said exactly what she had just been thinking.

Mrs. Maximoff, in other hand, just arched up a perfect brow and asked with a smile, “Already knows, huh? Very well then sweetheart, would you mind telling me how much is 20+35?”

“55,” came the easy answer, causing both of the teacher’s brows to shoot upwards now. Morgan stared wide eyed at Mary, who hadn’t changed from her bored look.

“75+53?” Mrs. Romanoff tried again.

“128.” Mary answered in a beat.

“128+310?”

“438.”

“300x50?”

Mary shrugged, “15000”

To say Mrs. Maximoff was shocked was an understatement, and the same could be said for the rest of the class, who were wide eyed and gawking and their new colleague. “Squared root of 15000?” Mrs. Maximoff ventured.

Mary seemed thoughtful for a moment, which prompted Mrs. Maximoff to open a satisfied smile, “Mary, you shouldn’t-”

“122,474447138 plus lots of other numbers,” Mary confidently answered, causing the woman to blink in shock and gawk at her for a moment, and then proceed to reach for the calculator sitting on her desk.

Morgan watched Mrs. Maximoff fumble with the device for a few seconds until her eyes widened almost comically, and she proceeded to look at Mary, then back at the calculator, then back at Mary again. “Oh my God.” She whispered, and after a moment of staring at the calculator, she rounded her table and reached for the phone also sitting on her desk, “Just a minute, sweethearts.”

She then proceeded to call what seemed to be Mrs. Romanoff’s number, since Morgan heard her teacher call the monitor’s name as she spoke in hushed tones. Morgan then she turned her gaze towards Mary, who seemed completely unaware of the impressed looks sent her way, until she wasn’t, “What?” she asked, frowning, “Those were simple math problems!”

A smile spread Morgan’s lips, and the little girl couldn’t help but straight up _beam _at her new colleague as the girl continued to frown at the dumbfounded state she had left the classroom. Mary was like her. _Mary is like me!_

Finally, somebody who understood her struggles.

━ ☆ ━

Later that day, it was playtime, and Mrs. Maximoff had quickly left the classroom in order to go to the restroom, trusting the kids would be too entertained with their toys and games to cause any trouble - but my oh my, how wrong had she been.

“Duncan, stop!” Morgan cried as she tried to recover her plushie from the slightly taller boy’s hands, “Give me back Mr. Fuzzy!”

“Mr. Fuzzy is such a dumb name. I thought you had a genius for a daddy, so where is your smartness now?” He teased cruelly, keeping the caramel bear out of Morgan’s reach, “Stuuuuuuuupid.”

Her eyes welled up in frustration, “I’m not stupid!”

“You are! You act all smartpants and stuff, like you know better than us, but I bet you do it just for attention. My daddy says it’s because you inherited your daddy’s arrogance, so you are a prick just like him!”

Morgan’s eyes widened, and she felt justified anger spark within her little heart. “Don’t call my daddy that bad word! You take that back right now!”

“Or what?” Duncan actually smacked her with Mr. Fuzzy, earning a yelp from the little girl, “You’ll go cry to your daddy? I bet he don’t even have time to listen to your whining. He probably don’t even like you!”

Morgan gasped. That wasn’t true. Her daddy was a _very _busy man, but even like so, he found time to give her and her big brother attention! Sure he had grown a bit distant after he figured out Uncle Obie was actually a meanie, and lately he hasn’t had much time since he was dating that scary _scary _man, who always seemed to demand all of her daddy’s attention when he finally had some free time from his work, so she had to mostly spend time with her big brother and his friend Ned, and daddy just seemed just so _sad _all the time lately…

Her lower lip trembled, and her eyes started to well up with tears. It wasn’t true. _It wasn’t!_

“Apologize.” A familiar voice demanded, surprising both Morgan and Duncan and making them turn towards the source of it. Standing by their side was Mary, and she had a _very _serious expression as she pinned Duncan down with a steely look that actually looked scary.

“What do you want, new girl?” Duncan demanded as he scrunched up his nose, but Mary continued to glare at him.

“Apologize, and give her plushie back,” she demanded hotly, once again surprising Morgan. _She’s helping me…?_

Duncan scoffed, “Shut up, stupid! I don’t gotta do nothing you-”

But he never got to answer, since Mary - without any further warning - simply stepped forward and yanked the plushie out of his grasp. He was shocked for a moment, soon scrambling to try and retrieve Mr. Fuzzy, but Mary was having _none _of it and without thinking twice pushed Duncan _hard_, causing the boy to end up falling backwards and landing on his butt.

There was a stunned silence for a moment as the three children looked at each other, and then the reality of what had just happened seemed to dawn on Duncan and he broke into tears as he cried loudly.

Morgan was staring at the wailing boy, still trying to wrap her head around what has just happened, when she felt a poke on the side of her arm that had her turning to Mary, “Here,” she said, offering Mr. Fuzzy to Morgan, “This is yours.”

Morgan nodded, silently accepting the stuffed bear back and hugging it tight against her chest. It had been one of her daddy’s birthday gifts, and the one she loved the most and that always chased away bad dreams when daddy couldn’t be there. Mr. Fuzzy was probably her best friend, and she couldn’t explain how relieved she was that he was safe back into her arms.

She offered Mary a small, grateful smile, “Thank you so much…”

Mary, for the first time since she had arrived that day, smiled back, and Morgan felt happiness bloom inside her chest. If Mary had defended her, does that mean that they were friends now? Uncle Rhodey was very protective of daddy, and they are the bestest of friends, so if Mary saved her from Duncan’s teasing, then that should mean they were friends now. Maybe _best_ friends? The idea made her feel warm and happy. She had always wanted a best friend - other than Mr. Fuzzy, of course.

She watched Mary open her mouth to say something, but before she could, a _very _angry voice erupted from the classroom’s now open door, “What on _earth _is going on here?!”

Mary’s mouth clamped shut and both girls turned their heads in alarm towards Mrs. Romanoff’s voice, only to find the woman standing by the door with her arms crossed tightly against her chest and a stern expression on her face. Behind her stood Mrs. Maximoff with a concerned look, and before either Mary or Morgan could answer, Duncan pointed at them and accused mid wails, “Morgan was being mean and then Mary pushed me!”

Morgan’s eyes widened and then she glared at the boy, “Liar!”

“Not lyin’! She pushed me!” He screamed back, pointing at Mary, who scowled angrily.

“_You _were being mean to her, so you deserved it!” She yelled back, causing the boy to cry even louder.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Mrs. Romanoff snapped, successfully shutting up all three children and turning to their teacher, “Wanda, go tend to the other kids,” She ordered, uncrossing her arms and placing her hands on her hips, “I’ll accompany our troublemakers to Principal Fury’s office. I guess we’ll need to have a word with their parents.”

Morgan and Duncan winced, while Mary’s eyes widened fearfully.

They sure were in trouble now.


	2. watch your language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Asshole parents being mean to children and annoying the living shit out of everyone -.-

Morgan hugged her plushy tight against her chest; brown eyes darting from one side to another while she sat waiting outside Mr. Fury’s office. She  _ never  _ had to go to the principal’s office for misbehavior of any kind, even though she could get terribly bored in her classes. She would rather remain silent and just occupy herself with something else, and even when the boys picked on her, she would just lower her head and take it. She never raised her voice or tried to give them a taste of their own medicine, because she knew that if she ever did, she would be sent to the principal’s office… and the school would make her daddy aware of what was going on, and the last thing she wanted was to bring more troubles to him.

But now… there was no way out of this.

She sighed and buried her face against Mr. Fluffer’s soft head, trying really hard not to let fear and guilt get the best of her. She was a Stark, wasn’t she? And weren’t Starks made of iron? She could do this. There must be a way to let her daddy know that there’s not much going on and that all of this was just a bit misunderstanding, right?

“What are you looking at?” Mary’s annoyed voice startled Morgan out of her thoughts, causing her to raise her little head from its place against Mr. Fluffers’ fur and look at the blonde girl. She was openly glaring at Duncan, who was sitting across from them on the other row of colorful chairs, and currently seemed startled. He didn’t answer and just looked away, causing Mary to roll her blue eyes and mutter, “Weirdo.”

Morgan looked from one to another, trying to understand what exactly had her new colleague snapping at Duncan again, but after a moment of consideration, she just decided it wasn’t worth it. “Uh, I’m sorry for causing you trouble,” she heard herself apologize, earning Mary’s attention, “If I knew Duncan would be silly and blame us, I wouldn’t have-”

“Don’t apologize when  _ you _ were the victim in the story, that’s not right,” Mary rebuked with a huff, surprising Morgan, “ugly face over there is the only one to blame, so you don’t ha’fta worry.”

Morgan frowned slightly, “But… you pushed him…”

“Only ‘cos he tried to steal your plushy back. I was only going to give it back to you,” Mary shrugged, glaring towards the boy once more and making him flinch, “so it’s his fault and his fault only for being a dummy.”

Morgan stared at Mary for a moment, and then burst into a fit of giggles, which seemed to catch her by surprise, “What?”

“You are funny,” she explained mid giggles, opening a bright smile towards the other girl, “but thank you so much for helping me. Mr. Fluffers is really really  _ really  _ special to me, and I don’t know what I would have done if he had gotten hurt…”

Mary only shrugged, “No problem, anytime you need. I don’t really like bullies.”

“Me neither,” Morgan scrunched up her nose in distaste, “they are mean.”

“ _ Unnecessarily  _ mean,” Mary crossed her arms, “Daddy always says they are mostly like this because they don’t think well of themselves, so they are mean to others to try and prove a point they are good enough.”

Morgan tilted her head to the side, “That sounds silly. Don’t their mommies and daddies tell them they are good?”

“Daddy says not all mommies and daddies have time or like to do that, so their babies turn out complicated,” Mary explained, her fiery blue eyes subtly growing sad, “he doesn’t like when I fight, though… he’ll be disappointed with me.”

“But it was to help me!” Morgan smartly pointed out, earning a timid smile from Mary, “It’s my fault too. I’ll let him know and it will be fine!”

“Thank you,” Mary said earnestly, rubbing the side of her arm, “it’s just… daddy had to deal with this a lot when he was younger, and he doesn’t want me to do the same. Says it’s not worth it, and that sometimes it’s smarter to end a fight with words instead of violence…” Mary then sent a glare in Duncan’s direction, “But I really can’t stand bullies, so I can’t help it.”

“Well, I think it’s very brave of you to step up to help others!” Morgan piped in, attempting to cheer up her new friend. Mary offered her a bigger smile this time.

“My daddy does that too, he’s like a big superhero!” She said excitedly, earning an awed look from Morgan.

“Really?”

“Yes! He doesn’t like to talk about it, but my uncles always tell me stories of how my daddy was when he was fighting bullies abroad as a very brave and awesome captain before I was born!”

Morgan gasped, tightening her hold on Mr. Fluffers as she beamed, “No way!”

Mary nodded energetically, “I’m serious! He’s the  _ best _ !”

“Nuh uh!” Morgan denied with a grin, earning a confused look from Mary, “Your daddy may be an amazing superhero, but mine is suuuuuper smart. He builds robots and really complicated programs, and teaches me all kinds of things, so  _ he’s  _ the bestest!”

Mary’s eyes went wide as saucers, “He can build robots?”

“Yes! He built DUM-E and U, who are two of my bestest friends, and he also built Mr. JARVIS! He’s like… a real cool butler, except he’s always on the walls and knows everything!”

“Awesome!” Mary squeaked, eyes sparkling with excitement and interest, “Do you think I could meet your robot friends one day? I’ve been trying to build one, but daddy doesn’t have much for me to build one…”

“Definitely! Once daddy hears you helped me, he will definitely-”

“Morgan!”

She turned her head towards the voice calling her name, only to see her daddy rushing down the corridor with a panicked expression and his expensive outfit rumpled.

“Daddy!” She squealed excitedly, jumping out of her seat and rushing towards the man, who scooped her mid stride and hugged her tightly against his chest.

“Baby, oh God, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” He immediately asked once Morgan released his neck from the hug, checking her everywhere for any signs of wounds and bruises, “Pepper warned me Fury had called about you being involved in a fight?!”

Morgan winced slightly, hiding part of her face behind Mr. Fluffer’s head, “Uh… sorry daddy, it was just a little accident.”

“What do you mean  _ an accident _ ? I gave Fury and his merry band of loons  _ very specific  _ instructions about how they should look after you. The  _ least  _ I expect was for them to be able to follow a simple list of requests!” He ranted on, clearly frantic and upset as Morgan feared he would be.

She placed a small hand on his left cheek, successfully interrupting his angered words, “It’s okay daddy, I’m not hurt or anything. Duncan was just being silly, but Mary helped me and rescued Mr. Fluffers!”

“Mary?” he questioned, looking around the room and finally seeming to notice the other children aside Morgan. His eyes stopped on Duncan for a moment and then narrowed dangerously as he regarded the boy, “I’m having a  _ serious  _ talk with your parents when they get here, kid.”

Duncan only winced and kept his head low, while her daddy’s gaze finally landed on Mary; who had her eyes blown wide and mouth hanging open as she stared at him. His scowl softened considerably, and he smiled softly towards her, “And you must be Mary.”

“T-Tony Stark?” Mary squeaked out, seeming shocked in a way she hadn’t been before and had Morgan tilting her head in confusion.

“Oh?” Her daddy laughed, putting her down and lowering himself to Mary’s level, “So you know who I am, young miss?”

“If I know who you are?!” She squeaked again, turning her head towards Morgan and shooting her a betrayed look, “Why didn’t you tell me your daddy was _the_ _Tony Stark_, Morgan?”

Morgan just shrugged at that, “I did tell you he builds robots.”

“So you’re a fan?” He laughed once more, offering Mary a hand that she stared with wide eyes, “Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Mary. Thank you very much for helping mini-me get her toy back.”

She took his hand with both of hers, which were obviously smaller, and shook it eagerly - a bright smile replacing the shock as she nodded happily, “It was no problem, Mr. Stark! And I just wanted to say that your inventions are so so  _ so  _ awesome!”

He continued smiling at her, “Are they now?”

“Yes! I want to be an engineer when I grow up, so I’m studying a lot, and I want to be just like you”

“Oh, wow, that’s one hell of an objective, but you shouldn’t want to be like me, kiddo,” his smile turned sadder for a moment, until he caressed Mary’s blonde locks and winked at her good naturedly, “You should want to be  _ better. _ ”

Mary narrowed her eyes, “How did you know that my main objective is to surpass you, sir? That’s kinda sketchy.”

That startled yet another laughter out of him, “Okay, I already like you.”

Seeing her chance, Morgan piped in, “Daddy, daddy, Mary wants to meet DUM-E, U and Mr. JARVIS, can she?” She requested, immediately causing Mary’s expression to shift from suspicious to excited, and now Tony was met with two little girls shooting him imploring looks and chanting, “Please please please pleaaaaaaaaase?”

“Really? You two are ganging up on me already?” Tony released a dramatic sigh and shook his head; the amused smile never leaving his lips as the girls kept staring at him expectantly, “Fine, fine, but only if Mary’s parents agree. We still need to figure out what happened here, and from what I got from this whole thing, she might be in some trouble.”

That quieted the girls down, causing Mary to become gloom while Morgan pouted, “But daddy, it wasn’t her fault! Duncan was being silly and mean, and she just wanted him to give Mr. Fluffers back, but then he tried to get Mr. Fluffers from her and-”

“I know baby, but I was told she pushed him, so we need to talk with Fury and figure this out before anything else, okay?” He attempted to reason with her, but Morgan only pouted more, refusing to say anything else. He ended up sighing and pulling her to a hug, directing his eyes once more towards the sullen Mary, “But I  _ am  _ grateful, sweetheart. I don’t know what happened exactly, but we’ll figure it out. I’m sure Fury and your parents will understand that your heart was in a good place and will be reasonable.”

Mary sniffed, “My daddy doesn’t like when I fight, but I can’t just ignore when a situation goes south! I wish I could, but I just… I can’t, Mr Stark.” She sniffed again and rubbed her nose, “Sorry for causing trouble.”

Morgan felt her daddy’s hold stiffen around her, and when she looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes were wide and surprised as he stared at Mary.  _ Huh…? _

“Uh, it’s alright, kiddo.” He assured after a minute of stunned silence, “Like I said, I’m sure we’ll figure this out.”

Mary raised teary, hopeful blue eyes towards him, and timidly asked, “Then, can I meet your robots…?”

That same ease smile was back to his lips, and he nodded, softly patting one of her knees, “Sure thing. First stop: Stark Tower.”

Mary’s expression immediately brightened at that and she raised a tiny fist into the air as she cheered, “Yes!”

Morgan beamed at her new friend’s happiness and then turned to thank her daddy for being so kind, but she was surprised to find his expression seeming weird once more. He was staring at Mary with this confused look in his eyes, almost like the ones he gets when he’s working in a  _ really  _ complex invention that he can’t quite figure out. She raised a hand to pat his cheek once more, seeming to startle him out of whatever thought that seemed to be haunting him and causing him to look down at her, “Yes, baby?”

“Are you feeling okay, daddy?” She asked softly, “Your face looked funny for a moment.”

He smiled at her, but it wasn’t his honest and soft smile, “Just peachy, kiddo. Don’t worry about it.”

Morgan frowned at that, clearly unsatisfied with her daddy’s dismissive answer. There was something wrong. Maybe it was just that he had gotten worried about her? Or maybe something at work?

_ Oh no _ . What if that mean man had done something again to make him sad?! Morgan’s frown intensified. That was  _ definitely  _ the case. She had lost count of how many times her daddy’s current boyfriend had made him cry or even left him upset, so there was no doubt he was the culprit for the sadness that was currently filling her daddy’s pretty eyes. Sure the whole thing of being worried about her didn’t help, but he seemed fine and relieved when he saw she wasn’t hurt, so the sadness she had noticed earlier  _ definitely  _ had roots somewhere else, and Morgan did not like it at all.

She opened her mouth to ask her daddy if Mr. Stone was being mean and silly again, when a shriek reached their ears and had her jumping in place, “Duncan! Honey, oh my god!” a tall lady in a long expensive looking dress ran by, completely ignoring them as she went to Duncan and scooped him up in her arms. He immediately started to cry, “Oh baby, there there, mommy is here. All is fine now.”

After her, came a tall man with an also expensive looking suit — he didn’t look pretty as her daddy did in those, though — and began to check Duncan from head to toe. The boy only continued to cry while his mommy continued to try and calm him down, but then the man finally seemed to notice them, and his glare was so terrifying that Morgan found herself hiding behind her daddy’s legs as he stood up to meet with the man’s angry look.

“Stark, why am I not surprised,” the man sneered, causing her daddy’s expression to grow disgusted.

“So the brat’s yours, Michael. No wonder he lacks any sense of ridiculous and picks on little girls.”

Morgan’s eyes widened. So her daddy knew Duncan’s daddy? She never understood why Duncan was always repeating the bad things his daddy seemed to say about her own, but apparently it was because they knew each other, and  _ clearly _ didn’t like one another  _ one bit. _

_ “Picking _ on little girls?!” The man growled, “I was told my son was assaulted, and because of your arrogant child, no-less!”

Her daddy’s expression grew stormy, “You might want to hold your tongue while speaking of my daughter, Williams. I’m lacking patience these days, and I can assure you Matt is on the same page after that last stunt you pulled on my company.”

“Stunt  _ I  _ pulled?!” The man scoffed, “You are such an ungrateful bastard! I was only trying to  _ help  _ you raise your company from the dirt!”

“By following by my dear-old-and-very-arrested uncle’s directions, which  _ coincidently,  _ had you people selling my stuff to terrorists? Yeah, I don’t think so,” her daddy growled back, “And now I hear your kid is picking on mine? What is this, Williams? Are you purposely putting up your son to bully my daughter out of pettiness since I kicked you out of my company? That’s a new low even for you.”

“I’ve done no such thing!” Mr. Williams snapped angrily, pointing an accusing finger towards Morgan and causing her to hide further behind her daddy’s legs, “If anything, is this arrogant child of yours that has been stirring up problems! My son is always telling me how she never pays attention to the classes, or prefers to do anything else but the lessons that are given. Clearly she thinks she’s more than the other children, so why the  _ hell  _ are you keeping her with them if she is so damn superior?!”

Her daddy scoffed at that, “Shouldn’t your kid be paying attention to his own work and lessons instead of snooping on my daughter’s business? Whatever she is doing in class it’s hers and mine problem, not whatever you people think she needs to do. We don’t owe you any explanations of why we do things the way we do it, so back off, Williams.”

“Daaaaaddyyyyyy,” Duncan whined, immediately earning the man’s attention as he pointed towards Mary, who had been watching the entire exchange with wide eyes and rooted on her bright red chair, “It was her! She pushed me! I fell on my butt and it hurt!”

Mr. Williams’ eyes widened, and he immediately switched his wrathful look towards Mary, who — despite her clear nervous stance and how she was subtly shaking — didn’t flinch in the slightest. “So  _ you  _ are the little miscreant who assaulted my boy.”

“Hmpf. Figures,” Mrs. Williams finally spoke; voice dripping disdain as her cold eyes filled with judgement locked on Mary, “I knew we would have trouble when this school decided to take in the underprivileged.”

_ That  _ seemed to affect Mary, since she immediately lowered her head to look away from the woman’s disgusted glare, which had Morgan gasping. Who just said such mean things like that? No wonder Duncan was a bully, his parents were even worse!

“Wow, hold on just a  _ fucking  _ minute,” she heard her daddy snarl, which seemed to surprise the Williams as they turned to look at him, “you better not be ganging up on a five year old kid right in front of me, because that’s something the fuck else and that I’ll  _ definitely  _ do something about.”

“You should watch your language around children, Mr. Stark,” Mrs. Williams scolded condescendly, but her daddy only scoffed.

“Don’t you  _ dare _ try to demand manners from me when you just outright shamed a little girl for being underprivileged. I bet you wouldn’t like to hear that I look at you people as nothing but ants under my boot, since you  _ clearly  _ are no big deal for a billionaire such as myself.” He smartly pointed out, causing Mrs. Williams to open and close her mouth in shock and Mr. Williams’ face to become three different shades of red.

“You arrogant prick!” He bellowed, stepping forward and stopping right before her daddy’s face as he positioned himself in front of Mary to shield her too, “That girl attacked my son, so I have the right to be upset, and yet, you have the gal to offend us like this?!”

“Are you serious right now? Are we  _ really  _ doing this? Because your damn kid literally bullied mine until another one felt the need to intervene, so let me take a page of your book and let you know that I’m not upset about this, I am  _ livid _ , and you can be sure that if you even try to give another step towards these girls, I’ll sic not only Matt — who is literally one of the best lawyers in this damn city, by the way —, but yes all my other lawyers on you, and you’ll be stripped from  _ every single penny  _ you were allowed to keep when the only thing I decided to do was fire you even though you partook on Obadiah’s coup d'état against me. So yeah, Williams,” her daddy stepped forward, crowding the man and looking right into his eyes, “I have all the damn rights to have the ‘gal’ of offending you, your haughty wife and your bully of a kid, so you better remember your place and who you are dealing with here before I am forced to remind you.”

The man’s eyes grew wide as saucers, and his face was so red that it looked like a tomato. The thought made Morgan want to giggle, but she immediately covered her mouth before she could. This was a reaaaally tense situation, and her big brother already told her once that we need to be serious in serious situations.

Not that Pete ever managed to achieve that, but well, Morgan still tried to follow his instructions.

“You’ll regret this, Stark,” Mr. Williams eventually spat, backing down and standing by his family’s side, “You mark my words.”

Her daddy raised a brow, “And now you are threatening me? Wow, you are dumber than I thought.”

“You shut your mouth!” The man bellowed, startling the girls and causing her daddy to scowl.

“Or what? You’ll kill me? Oh wait, that attempt went south, hasn’t it?”

“Why, you son of a-”

“You finish that sentence in front of the children, and we might have a  _ serious  _ problem here, sir.”

Morgan immediately raised her head. That voice was new. She peeked from behind her daddy’s legs to try and see who had just spoken, and her eyes widened when she finally caught sight of him.

He was a big, and  _ very  _ strong looking, blonde man, with a fluffy looking beard that had Morgan wanting to pap (her daddy’s wasn’t as fluffy) and one of the mightiest and most terrifying scowls Morgan had even seen in her life - and  _ listen _ , her daddy could make some scary faces sometimes!

Mr. Williams turned around, clearly ready to tear the newcomer a new one for interfering, only to sputter for a moment when he met nothing but a very large chest. He raised his eyes to meet the man’s unforgiving glare, and immediately backed down a step, “What the-”

“Again,” the blonde sir repeated, voice sounding rather calm but with a dangerous edge to it, “finish that sentence in front of the children, and we’ll have a problem.”

Mr. Williams immediately shut up, causing Morgan to stare in awe. Not even her daddy’s threats and intimidating glares — which usually had any person lowering their heads and apologizing — had caused the mean man to back down, but the big mister had managed it with just a few-

“Daddy!” Mary squealed in delight from her seat, causing Morgan’s thoughts to come to a screeching halt and her eyes to widen as she stared at her friend, then at the big sir, and then back at Mary.

_ That  _ was her daddy?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO THAT???
> 
> Man, it's always strangely satisfying to write Steve intimidating the shit out of self-conceited people fmealkaeg also, Tones can be frightening too, mwah.
> 
> Lemme know watcha think! Next chapter: Tony's POV :)


	3. sparks of recognition (and something else...?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps. I have been dealing with some emotional hardships lately so I'm not feeling the best, which means I'm not overly satisfied with the quality of this chapter. I do hope y'all like it though, maybe I'm just being too hard on myself.
> 
> Enjoy, and don't forget to lemme know your thoughts if you can! I appreciate it <3

Tony liked to think of himself as someone collected, someone entirely able to take any problems head on and deal with them without much fuss. Of course Pepper and Rhodey disagreed, often argumenting that he overthought every single step of the way and that he was too much of a drama queen to deal with things calmly. Obviously, he disagreed. Tony Stark was a great problem solver, one of the biggest geniuses of his era, so it shouldn’t be easy to unnerve him. He was a man of iron, a Stark, so there was hardly anything that could bring him down.

And that’s exactly why when Pepper transferred the call from Principal Fury, Tony barely registered the man’s last words before he was ending the call and storming through his office’s door, leaving a startled Pepper yelling after him as he hurried to get to his car. He would apologize to her later, but he couldn’t lose time.

Because the weaknesses of Anthony Edward Stark were few, and the wellbeing of his children fit painfully well into said category.

Fury had been adamant about requesting his immediate presence, but even if he hadn’t, Tony would have been storming his way through NYC to get to his kid. He  _ knew  _ he shouldn’t have caved in about the school. Sure, Pepper had some solid arguments, and Morgan had seemed fairly excited with the prospect by then, but he really shouldn’t have allowed this. He knew how people of any age could be mean to people like him and his sweet little girl. Hell, even Peter went through his share of bullying at despite already being a teenager, and the boy might not share the Stark bloodline that Morgan does, but his genius was enough to enable him as one, and  _ shit _ , Peter was constantly picked on at school. He lost the count of how many times the kid arrived from school looking defeated and forlorn, and absolutely refused to discuss the matter regardless of how many attempts Tony did to get him talking. Up until this day Tony had no idea who was the little prick that bothered Peter and his friend Ned at school, and he threatened to raise hell in order to find out - there’s no doubt JARVIS could find him, there’s little to nothing his A.I. couldn’t find - but Pete had  _ begged  _ him not to. He was certain that if Tony attempted to do something, things would only get worse, and when Tony suggested a school transfer, Peter panicked even harder. That had Tony raising an eyebrow, because Peter  _ knew  _ that if he wanted Ned to go to any school he was going to, Tony only had to clap his hands and it would be done, but there was something else keeping Peter rooted at that public school. Something he absolutely refused to talk about, and that would have Tony sighing in defeat and giving up whenever the kid seemed to get too upset about his prodding. God, teenagers were so difficult. He truly hoped Morgan would take her sweet time in her child years before he would have to deal with the throes of her teenagehood as well.

Fifteen minutes later, since Tony didn’t bother respecting any traffic laws and just zipped through the streets - they could ticket him all they wanted, he didn’t lack money to pay any bills -, he haphazardly parked inside the school’s Parking Lot, being sure to request JARVIS to park it properly so nobody would be nagging him later on. He ran through the school’s large corridors, not bothering to pay attention to any of the surprised staff or students wandering around as he aimed for the Principal’s Office, hammering heart almost beating through his ribcage as he turned the last corridor and finally saw her; seated on one of the countless colorful chairs and talking excitedly with another little girl. “Morgan!” He bellowed in both anguish and relief, causing Morgan to immediately turn around and her pretty little face lit up in glee as she recognized just who had arrived.

“Daddy!” She yelled back, jumping out of the chair and running towards him. They met each other midway, and Tony scooped her up in his arms without preamble and hugged her tightly against his chest while she happily chirped, “You’re here!”

He immediately proceeded to check her for any injuries and ask if she was okay; his frantic state causing her to giggle softly and assure him she was fine, but hey, you can never be too careful, right?

Then he was introduced to Mary - not before letting the little troublemaker that caused all of this know he was  _ very  _ unpleased -, and he had to admit it didn’t take long before he was charmed by the miniature blondie.

She was a tiny little thing, half an inch bigger than Morgan maybe, but she had this presence to her that just didn’t quite fit a six year old. She did have an adorable golden hair that framed her chubby little face very well, and the pair of electric blue eyes that widened in awe once he came closer stirred a feeling of familiarity within him. It wasn’t the first time Tony had ever seen blue eyes on a child before, but hers… he wondered why they looked so familiar. He couldn’t quite understand where that had come from, and it annoyed him not to know things, but he decided to file that feeling for later and humor Morgan’s new friend, who apparently was one of his mini fans and was far too enthusiastic about robots and his work. It actually warmed his art at the same time it surprised him. Girls this age normally didn’t care about this kind of thing, they were more inclined to be playing or pestering their parents.

Unless… oh, dear god, was she like Morgan? Is that why they had instantly connected? Tony grinned at the prospect of Morgan having found someone like her to be a friend. That was such a rare find.

Then Mary said  _ that phrase _ , and Tony’s wandering thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he gawked at her and the same familiarity of earlier struck him once more like a tidal wave. He had heard that sentence before, his photographic memory would  _ never  _ allow him to forget, and suddenly he was ten years old again and staring into another pair of determined blue eyes, but these belonging to a stubborn little guy that just didn’t know when to quit.

“ _ If I see a situation pointed south, I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could. _ ”

Tony had snickered, “ _ No, you don’t. _ ”

And then received a laugh in response, “ _ Yeah, no, I don’t.” _

It took Tony a moment, but he finally dragged himself back to the present and masked his incredulity with a shaken smile. Why was he thinking of  _ him  _ now, out of the sudden? This couldn’t be more than a coincidence. Surely there were thousands of blonde little girls with bright blue eyes who said these words around the planet right? Maybe they had belonged to some philosopher- wait, why the hell would a six year old be studying philosophy in the first place?  _ What the fuck Tony, get it together! _

Then the miniature bully’s parents arrived, and Tony was not able to mask his disgust once the kid’s father turned out to be no one less than Michael Williams - one of Obadiah’s greatest supporters and confidants. The asshole, along with a handful of others, had fallen once Tony figured out Obie’s treason and expelled him out of his life and into a jail cell where he belonged. Michael had been one of the lucky ones who had left the company with nothing but a mild lawsuit on his back, but he still was a damn little weasel with a complex of superiority that was borderline ridiculous. Tony had fired him with a warning to keep his business out of anything SI related, lest he wanted far more trouble than what he had gotten, but the bastard  _ clearly  _ had lost his sense of danger when he apparently decided to use his little brat to target Morgan in some petty move of revenge against his former boss. Which kind of people  _ did  _ that? They were  _ kids _ , for crying out loud!

Then that bitch he calls a wife started to prey on Mary, which caused Tony to see red, and all hell broke loose.

Throughout the entire argument, Tony did his best to shield the girls and keep them from the Williams’ clutches, and the fight was growing more and more heated at every passing second, until Michael menacingly stepped forward and Tony was  _ certain  _ he would start throwing punches, which wouldn’t really be a worry for him, except that he was currently shielding two little girls who were practically shuddering behind him. He grit his teeth, preparing for the blow.  _ Starks are made of iron,  _ Howard echoed inside his head. He could take it.

But he never had to, since before Michael could actually raise a fist, a gruff voice sounded from behind him and had him freezing in place. “You finish that sentence in front of the children, and we might have a serious problem here, sir.”

Williams turned around, clearly ready to snap at whoever had dared to interrupt him, when he met only a solid wall of muscled pectorals that  _ holy shit?! _

Michael stepped back, stunned, while Tony remained rooted in place. The man wasn’t just big, he was  _ stunning.  _ He had a dark blond hair that looked somewhat overgrown and was brushed back, pairing perfectly with the full beard that he sported. His glare was cold as steel, and Tony had to keep himself from gasping as narrowed dangerously and practically pinning Williams to the ground were one of the most stunning pair of blue eyes Tony had ever seen. They exuded annoyance as the guy proceeded to snarl something at Michael that Tony didn’t bother listening to, since he couldn’t look away from those fiery blues that suddenly were more than familiar to him.

Realization struck him like lightning when it dawned on him that those were not  _ one  _ of the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Those  _ were  _ the same blue eyes that had once struck him speechless when he was nothing but a kid who was trying to get around bullies without getting too beaten up so he wouldn’t get beat up again once he arrived home, and this tiny little guy intervened and got his frail little ass whooped in his place. Tony remembered as if it was yesterday, as he looked down at the battered and bruised form of his ‘hero’ as he laid on the floor coughing and moaning in pain.

Tony had frowned at him, “ _ Are you stupid? Those guys were thrice our size. _ ”

The kid finally opened his eyes to look at him, and even though one was practically swollen shut, Tony had been struck by the fierceness they exuded - and how breathtaking blue they had been. “ _ They were bothering you, _ ” the boy had grumbled, “ _ and I hate bullies. _ ”

Tony had laughed at that, “ _ You are a bit of a nutcase, aren’t you _ ?”

“ _ My best friend calls me a punk, but that works too. _ ” Tony helped him stand, and the boy staggered to his feet until he was face to face with him - well, almost face to face, he was one or two inches smaller. He looked nine, maybe eight? It didn’t matter, really, since he flashed Tony a bloodied grin that looked something between adorable and horrifying as he offered a hand and happily chirped, “ _ I’m Steven! What is your name? _ ”

Tony had stared at the offered appendage for a moment, unsure of what to do or how to react. He had never been greeted like that before by a stranger. Surely Jarvis was very lovable towards him, and so was his mama, but other than that…?

“ _ It’s a hand, _ ” Steven had explained with a shit eating grin, earning a quirked brow from Tony, “ _ you shake it. _ ”

“ _ I know that, smartass. _ ”

Steven gasped, “ _ You said a bad word! _ ”

Tony laughed,  _ “Shut up, _ ” but accepted the offered hand regardless, “ _ I’m Tony. _ ”

Steven, seeming to have forgotten his shock about Tony’s bad wording, beamed brightly as he eagerly shook Tony’s hand, “ _ It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tony. _ ”

The memory slowly dissipated from his sight, leaving his vision somewhat blurry as he slipped back into reality to stare at Big, Blond and Beautiful. It couldn’t be.  _ There is no way.  _ The guy he used to know was tiny, and sickly, and frail, and… and…

_ No. _ he thought breathlessly, unable to wrap his head around the idea. It was ridiculous. It was absurd.  _ It can’t be him! _

_ “ _ Daddy!” Mary squealed, jumping out of her seat and racing towards the man, successfully waking Tony out of his frantic thoughts. His eyes almost jumped out of their orbits as Golden Adonis effortlessly picked her up and allowed her to hide her face against his shoulder, all while maintaining his glower towards a very intimidated Michael. If Tony wasn’t shell-shocked at the moment, he would probably be snickering at how terrified the asshole seemed.

“Shhh, it’s alright, honey,” Tony heard Mary’s father -  _ It can’t be him, it just can’t!  _ \- turn away from Michael to soothe his daughter, planting a tender kiss on the crown of her hair and caressing her back, “I got you.”

Suddenly, the Principal’s Office door creaked open, and a stone faced Natasha stood in the door as she glared at them, “Principal Fury will be seeing Duncan’s parents now”

Williams Bitch preened at that and eagerly strutted inside with her child in her arms, while Michael followed right behind, still seeming somewhat cowed by Mary’s gigantic father. Once they vanished behind the closed door, Tony couldn’t help but snicker in amusement. “Figures.”

At the sound of his voice, Big, Blond and Beautiful’s head snapped towards him, and for the first time since the guy had arrived, his eyes met Tony’s - causing a spark of  _ something  _ to course through all of his body and shock him into place, seeming to have the same reaction from the other side as the guy’s bright blue eyes widened in surprise and his rosy lips parted ever so slightly in wonder. “Tony…?” He whispered with uncertainty, every syllable said in awe as he seemed like he couldn’t believe what - or better saying,  _ who -  _ he was seeing. “Is that really you?”

Tony’s stunted mind immediately came back to work, and his racing thoughts were as crazy as ever, heart beating wildly inside his chest.  _ No. It’s not possible.  _ “Have we met?” He asked breathlessly, a myriad of different emotions assaulting him as he watched Mary’s father display a shit-eating grin as amusement sparked inside the depths of those beautiful eyes. Realization struck him once more - this time harder than it had before - and Tony couldn’t help the gasp that escaped his lips when he finally was able to see that little bastard inside the big hunk currently grinning like an idiot at him.

It couldn’t be.

But  _ it was. _

“Steve?”

_ Definitely  _ Steve laughed in response and  _ god,  _ it was the same laughter! Only older, gruffier, and what the fuck, how  _ even that  _ had gotten hotter?! “Yeah!” Steve beamed, not hesitating to step closer and meet Tony halfway - Tony who hadn’t noticed he had begun to walk in the first place.

“Oh my- what the hell?! What happened to you?”

“I can’t believe it really is you, I thought I’d never see you again!”

“You thought you’d never see  _ me  _ again?  _ I  _ thought that I’d never see  _ you  _ again! In fact, you never bothered to reach out, what the fuck, Steve?!”

“Tony, watch your language!”

“Don’t you dare ‘language’ me, mister. You just showed your… not-so-ugly-mug after  _ decades _ , I think I get a pass!”

Steve chuckled and shook his head, “Are we really gonna argue one minute into meeting each other after years?”

“You are deflecting! And how did you get this big?! Last time I saw you, you were this,” He gestured to his middle, “big, and definitely didn’t look like you bench-pressed trucks!”

That earned another beautiful round of laughter from Steve, and in the next moment, those gorgeous blue eyes were looking at him again - searing, earnest, “God, I missed you so much.”

Tony felt his face grow hot at how  _ honest _ the confession had sounded, “S-shut up, idiot.”

A ridiculously blond brow shot upwards as Steve tilted his head to the side and smiled in amusement, “You didn’t miss me?”

“Shut. Up.”

Between them, Mary and Morgan witnessed the banter with wide eyes, switching from a parent to another as they went back and forth with their bickering. The girls then eyed each other, eyes sparkling with glee as they beamed at one another and then back at their parents, who currently didn’t seem able to see anything but each other. The little girls stifled giggles and exchanged looks filled with mirth, excitement and determination.

By the look of it, a masterful plan was  _ definitely  _ on the works, but Tony and Steve would never see it coming - not when they were far too busy gazing into each other’s eyes to notice their ingenious children plotting against them. 

Or was it  _ for _ them?

Only time would tell.


	4. when hearts fade into the flood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY, I MADE IT!
> 
> Heck, I have 323892 projects and I keep coming up with more ideas. Ugh. Someone stop me.
> 
> Regardless!!! A few TWs for this chapter, lovelies. We will dwelve in Tony's past, and let me tell you, it ain't no easy ride. When I said he is struggling he is struggling A LOT, and you'll see why, mainly where Steve is concerned. We also will understand why little Morgan is so determined to make this work, and I can only promise you guys this: it will be heartbreaking, but necessary.
> 
> That being said, TW for some homophobia, depressive thoughts, abandonment and the fact that Howards Stark is a class A MOTHERF*CKER in this story. That alone is a trigger warning, just, ugh. You'll see what I'm talking about.
> 
> Regardless, the pain is needed, so despite all odds, do enjoy the fruits of my labor. This was such a difficult chapter to write, I've been at it for the past two weeks, jesus.
> 
> A GOOD THING THOUGH!!!
> 
> My lovely friend from Twitter, Eva (@cosmicstony, GO FOLLOW HER SHE'S A DELIGHT) made a manip for my story, and it looks so good!!!! I'll put it up on the beginning of the chapter, and it's the scene where Steve and Tony recognize each other on the last chapter. IT TURNED OUT SO GREAT I'M JUST EMKFAELGMAEGKLAEGM!!!. Ugh, Eva, this chapter is dedicated to you, you absolute talented treasure!! I cannot.
> 
> That being said, enjoy this clusterf*ck of emotions, and have kerchiefs at hand! Just an advice, heh.

Once everything at Morgan’s school was solved - what ended on the Williams being very disgruntled as Fury warned them to keep their kid under control, since his behavior has been a headache for him even before he started to pick on Morgan - Tony found himself sitting on a bench park with Steve by his side as they watched their girls have a good time at the local playground outside the school. They were silent, since Tony was unsure how to even start a conversation with a man he hasn’t seen for the past two decades, and Steve was not trying to start any conversation either.

After their initial contact earlier, things had suddenly grown awkward once the excitement of the reunion dissipated and Tony remembered how Steve had simply vanished during the worst moment of his life and where he needed Steve the most. Worst of all, Steve had lied to him, since he had promised Tony he would be there for him when he lost his mother, and that Tony could always count on him, seeing he understood Tony’s pain to a degree since Steve had lost his father less than a year before he met Tony.

But then, one day Steve simply vanished without even a single goodbye, breaking not only his promise but also Tony’s heart.

The abandonment had crushed him in ways Tony couldn’t quite put into words, not only because Steve was his one and only friend, but also because he had been Tony’s first love. Love which Tony planned to confess the night they agreed to sneak out to go to a little festival down in Brooklyn, that Steve always told Tony so much about. He had been so excited about it, albeit a bit nervous. Tony never got out much before Steve, but sneaking out with his silly and sickly little friend turned out to be the greatest and most fun times in his life, so Tony always felt excited for them, and this time was even more special since they would go to the neighborhood where Steve had grown up in. Steve had invited him to celebrate, since that day - may fourteenth - would complete three years that they knew each other, and Tony thought it would be the perfect occasion to confess his feelings for the smaller boy, so he made a thousand plans and rehearsed a thousand speeches, and when the clock ticked closer to the hour they had agreed to meet, Tony sneaked out of his room once more and went to their rendezvous point, excitedly waiting Steve to arrive.

Except... that he never did.

An hour passed, two, three, and Steve never showed up. Tony tried calling him, his friend Bucky, and even his mother - Mrs. Sarah, who was a delight of a woman -, but no one ever answered him, so five hours later, he gave up, and went back home.

When he arrived, Howard had been waiting for him, much for his surprise and horror. He remembers getting the beating of a lifetime and being locked in his room for an entire week as punishment, but none of that had been more painful that calling Steve over and over again, and still getting absolutely no answer. After that week, Tony spent another two locked inside his room, sobbing in silence for what was left of his broken heart, phone clutched in his hands with Steve’s number shining on the screen.

Sure meeting Rhodey at MIT a few months later helped, as did Pepper’s appearance in his life a few years later, but he kept his circle of friends as small as possible, keeping even Pepper and Rhodey at arm’s length for quite some time after they met, but they never gave up on him, and if wasn’t for them, Tony was pretty sure he would have drowned in his own sorrow and self-hatred - mainly after Morgan’s mother appeared in his life and managed to make everything even worse.

She had been quite the beauty. Smart, charismatic, a genius that immediately picked Tony’s interest and didn’t take long to win his heart. Pepper, however, never liked her much, which Tony never understood, since Darlene was an absolute delight and was immediately adored by anyone who met her. He had asked Rhodey about it, but he didn’t understand it either. Differently from Pepper, Rhodey did like Darlene, and thought she was great for him.

Tony was head over heels for her, since for the first time in five years, he was finally able to forget Steve. Which was why five years later when they figured out Darlene was pregnant, Tony was absolutely overwhelmed with joy. He was planning to propose to her, his father wasn’t being as terrible as he used to be, and things seemed to be going absolutely perfect in his life.

A few months later Morgan was born, healthy and beautiful and absolutely everything Tony thought he’d never deserve. He was over the moon about his little girl and about his future wife - as they decided to marry once Morgan was born because Darlene didn’t want to look “fat” in her wedding dress - so once they went home that night, he expected nothing but bliss and happiness in his future.

Which was why waking up to Darlene gone along with several other expensive items and the stash of money he kept in one of the Penthouse’s vaults cleaned out, was an absolute and terrible shock to Tony.

He ran to Morgan’s room first thing, finding his daughter wailing and fussing inside her crib, clearly hungry as any newborn would be. He picked her up, distraught and confused, trying to soothe her while he tried to wrap his head around that entire situation.

He had gone to the kitchen to try and figure something a newborn could have that wasn’t her mother’s milk, when he found three bottles on top of the counter with a letter by the side. He picked one of the bottles with a label that read “maternity milk” on it and gave it to Morgan, who immediately began to drink as he shakily picked up the letter and began to read.

The letter that let him know Darlene - which wasn’t even her real name - had actually fooled him this entire time, and had wanted nothing from him but his money.

**_**Keep the brat**_**_. _The final words on the letter said. **_**I left her some milk so you don’t think I’m that much of an ungrateful bitch. Guess I could use her to get some extra money from you, but I’d have to keep her and I have no mood nor patience to put up with a kid. Consider my parting gift to you. Better luck next time.**_**

Needless to say that the only reason Tony didn’t crumble right then was due the fact Morgan had been in his arms.

The aftermath was a disaster. Pepper had to step up to look after Morgan with the help of Rhodey, because Tony completely lost it. He threw himself into vices, never ending one night stands with both women and men, got himself a terrible long list of scandals that only served to rile up Howard more and more each day, so much that he transferred most of Tony’s power on the company to Obadiah - his until then “trustworthy” friend -, not that Tony gave a damn.

He was too deep inside his own hole of self-pity to give a damn about anything, after all.

This went by for months, and Pepper desperately tried to get Tony to focus, to remember he had a little girl that needed him, but he could barely manage to even look at Morgan without breaking down completely. She looked too much like Darlene for him to be able to handle it, so for the first year of her life, Morgan barely saw or interacted with her father.

That is until her first word came along on a morning where she saw Tony stumbling around during a particularly bad hungover, and even if one would expect her to barely know him given his absence, Morgan immediately beamed up as she called out “Da!” and reached for him from her little raised chair, where Pepper had been feeding her.

Tony had froze in place, turning to look at his daughter in shock as Pepper stared at him wide-eyes - spoon of food hanging in the air while Morgan continued to reach for him, happily chanting “Da! Da! Da!”

The simple fact that even though she barely saw Tony during an entire year she still recognized that _he was her father,_ was more than enough to get his head back where it should be. Tony had lost himself during that year because he also thought he was unworthy of being Morgan’s father. That if he was fooled and abandoned twice by people that he loved, then maybe he truly was the screw up Howard always said he was, but Morgan calling him “Da” despite the fact he had been absent from her entire first year life showed him that it didn’t matter what he thought he was, or others thought he was worth it, the only thing that matter was that Morgan still saw him. Morgan still loved him. _Morgan would never abandon him._

So, after picking up his daughter and covering her in kisses while Pepper cried and laughed watching the both of them, Tony focused on fixing himself up and getting his head back in the game. He had a company to earn back, a child to raise, and no matter what Howard said, Tony would _never _be a parent like him.

Which was why four years later when Peter Parker, then 13 years old and recently orphaned for the second time, needed a new home, he didn’t hesitate for a second before taking him in. Peter had lost his birth parents when he was much younger, then being raised by his uncle and aunt. However, fatality striked again when the boy’s uncle was victim of a violent mugging that ended in his death, and with his aunt suffering from chronic depression and not being able to care for him anymore, Peter would have gone into the system until he turned eighteen. Pepper, who was a close friend of the family, brought the situation to Tony one day when he noticed she had been crying at her table. Her distress was palpable since she adored Peter and was heartbreaking to see May in the situation she was, so Tony decided to step in to not only take the custody of the boy, but also pay for May’s treatment and keep her bills and house paid without her needing to worry about it, all while allowing Peter to make her constant visits.

Pepper had been elated, and Peter was absolutely over the moon when she told him, since apparently he had been a big fan of Tony Stark’s inventions and frequently asked his aunty Pep when he would be able to meet the man. Needless to say that when they did, they immediately clicked, since Peter showed a rather smart and creative personality that impressed Tony. In less than a year, Tony was “dad” to Peter, and no matter what bullshit Howard said about the kid not being legitimate his or a Stark, Tony loved and cared for him the same way he did for Morgan. Not to mention Morgan _loved _Peter, and they were basically attached by the hip when Peter wasn’t at school. It was honestly adorable.

But his happiness didn’t last for long, of course. Apparently Howard thought it was time he intervened and did something about Tony’s “defiance”, as he called, and that’s how Tiberius Stone entered his life.

But Tony didn’t want to think about _him _too right now. Not when Steve was right by his side, looking mighty different and doing all sort of things to Tony’s insides just by _being there._ Tiberius might be an unfaithful son of a bitch, and Tony would _not _lower himself to his level, but he knew that even though all of this was absolute terrifying to him and that he was basically exploding with anger and resentment, there was no denial that even after all those years he never really got over Steve... and he wasn’t sure if he ever would.

And now the guy is not only cute, but also hot _as hell_. Tony wanted to groan and hit his head against the nearest light pole. Why was this his life?

“Wow, you really must hate me.” Steve’s weak chuckle startled him back to reality, having him look towards the man, who had a sorrowful look in his eyes as he watched their girls on the playground’s swings.

Tony, however, frowned. “What gave you that idea? Oh, maybe the fact I’m justifiably uncomfortable having to talk with a guy that vanished from my fucking life without even bothering to say goodbye? Yeah, that sounds like a good reason, maybe.” He spat out, causing Steve to flinch.

He sighed, “Tony, I’m sorry I left you, and that I vanished, but I swear to you I didn’t want to.”

“Well, you still did, didn’t you? So I guess it didn’t matter as much as you think.” He argued, causing Steve to finally look towards him and- _Oh hell no. _Not the kicked puppy look.“Don’t you _dare _make that face at me, Rogers. We are not fourteen anymore, I won’t fall for that.”

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner’s of Steve’s lips as he cocked his head, the heathen, “I don’t know what you are talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, you know well what I’m talking about, and that’s a fucking low blow,” Tony huffed, turning away to look back at the girls and trying to ignore how the man looked damn adorable even though he was far damn older, “and you should know better, because if you are going to come up with some bullshit excuse, don’t even bother. I don’t want to hear it.”

Steve sighed, “I understand that you are angry-”

“Angry?!” Tony exploded, turning to glare daggers into Steve as he proceeded hotly, “Oh no, Steve, I’m not ‘angry’,” he made air quotations with his fingers, “I’m absolutely _furious _and impressed that you are this much of a nonsensical asshole to just waltz in back into my life and try to act like nothing happened!”

“Tony, I didn’t-”

“You fucking disappeared, Steve. Didn’t answer a single call, not you, not even that buddy of yours. God, I tried calling your _mom, _even, but she never picked up either.” Tony noticed hurt flash across Steve’s bright blue eyes, but he was too upset to care, “You _promised _you would never fucking leave my side, I opened myself to you like I never did to _anyone _but my mother, who I don’t know if you fucking remember, died before you left me like you said you wouldn’t. Do you know how much time I spent waiting in that damn park for you, Steven? Five hours. Five _fucking _hours, only to get back home and get beaten nearly to death by my grieving drunkard of a father, so if you are honestly thinking you can just walk back into my life and that I’ll gladly open my arms and accept you back, I have _terrible _news for you.”

“Of course I didn’t expect that, Tony! I’m not that much of a clueless asshole!”

“Yeah, sure, so this is where you lie about whatever bullshit reason you had to leave, or...?

Steve looked and sounded exasperated, “I didn’t have a choice. You don’t understand.”

“Of course I don’t _fucking _understand, Steve. I don’t know what happened!” Tony bit back, shutting Steve up and making him clench his jaw, “You _left without telling me anything. _I didn’t get a letter, not even a damn phone call. You left me in the darkand it took me _years _to get over that, since I had a bunch of other bullshit to deal with aside the goddamn heartbreak you left me with, so forgive me if I don’t believe for a second you actually care about me and didn’t want to leave for whatever reason you had.”

“Tony, I- Listen...” Steve ran a frustrated hand through his hair, messing it up quite a bit, “I know what I did was unforgivable, and I understand if you don’t wish to forgive me, but please, just give me a chance to try and make this right,” he inhaled sharply, “you have no idea how much I missed you, and how much I wanted to reach us for us to talk again, but I just _couldn’t._”

Tony released a humorless laugh, shooting Steve an unimpressed look, “Sure. As if you didn’t move on with your life, seeing you have a daughter and for some reason went from a sickly twig to a muscled log. Bet you had the time of your life with the ladies before you settled down, hm?”

Steve narrowed his eyes, “Stop assuming things, that’s not what happened at all.”

“Then how about you start by telling me _goddamn _truth, Rogers? Hm? That sounds okay with you?” Tony snarled, his patience wearing thin as he was finding more and more difficult to keep his voice low, given they were in a public space.

Steve stared at him for a moment, jaw clenching just like his fists that rested on top of his worn out jeans and eyes filled with regret as he said, “I can’t.”

Tony stared at him in disbelief, only to shake his head and start getting up. “We’re done here.”

“No, Tony, wait,” Steve reached for his wrist, earning a furious glare from Tony who was already feeling his throat burn as tears threatened to spill. Years of making himself stronger suddenly felt like nothing as the protective walls around his heart started to tremble at the mere sight of the despair and overwhelming emotions swimming inside Steve’s blue eyes. The eyes who always made him so vulnerable, and _weak. _Tony couldn’t afford that. Not when he had two children who depended on him to survive.

“And why the _hell _should I stay?” Tony barked, his voice unsteady as he felt. _Run, run, run. You need to run. _“For you to earn my trust and then disappear in the blink of an eye again? I think I’ll pass.”

“Please,” Steve begged, his tone hoarse and filled with desperation, “just give me _one _chance. A single chance, and if I disappoint you, I’ll leave you alone. I swear to you, Tony, but please,” he inhaled sharply, eyes glistening with unshed tears that Tony just now happened to notice, “don’t go where I can’t follow. Not again.”

Tony stared at him, arm trembling slightly in Steve’s strong but gentle grip. He wanted to say no. He wanted to yank his hand away and tell him to go to hell, to get away from him, to _leave him the fuck alone. _He wanted to scream, he wanted to throw punches, he wanted to explode and cry and never even _try _to grant Steve any forgiveness. He wanted to hate, and resent.

But as Steve continued to look deep into his soul, Tony’s eyes captive of his own as he gazed upon him with both despair and determination, Tony found himself unable to do any of the aforementioned things.

Why?

Well, because he never stopped loving that idiot, and he clearly never would. So the possibility of Steve not having left Tony because he hated or had gotten tired of him and yes because of a complete different reason, was more than enough to cause hope to spark inside Tony’s ailing heart. A heart he had closed off years ago, and a heart that didn’t feel like it worked for anyone but his children and his close friends.

That only proved that Steve, even after all these years of pain and solitude he had brought Tony, still held an overwhelming amount of power over his heart and soul, and Tony wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. Because yeah, there was the possibility that Steve was the only one that could properly heal what was left of his broken soul, but that also means that... if Steve broke his heart a second time, it would be broken beyond repair, and Tony wasn’t sure if he was willing to take that leap of faith.

Because, clearly, for him? When it is about Steve Rogers, falling a second time could mean certain death.

━ ☆ ━

“What do you mean, your daddy is in danger?”

Morgan sighed, looking across the playground towards where her daddy and Mr. Steve were seated on a bench. They seemed serious, uncomfortable and silent, so she was growing worried if their plan really would work, so when Mary asked why exactly Morgan had suggested this idea of them pairing up their daddies, she decided to confide on her new friend.

Who, given her naturally overprotective nature, clearly hadn’t liked what she heard given her narrowed eyes and serious expression.

“It’s my daddy’s boyfriend,” She started reluctantly, playing with the rim of her dress, “I really don’t like him, and I want him gone.”

“Does he hurt your daddy?!” Mary angrily questioned, tightening the hold of her little palms on the chains of the swing, “Or you and your big brother?”

“No no, he doesn’t hurt daddy _like that_, and he never hurt us either. He’s... nice with us, I guess. Brings gifts and tells us stories when he’s around visiting daddy or staying over.”

Mary’s frown softened, giving place to a confused expression. “He doesn’t sound so bad?”

“I thought so too when daddy and him started going out, until the day I was inside my daddy’s office and I heard the truth...”

“What truth?”

Morgan big her lip, “The truth of why my daddy is sad all the time.”

_It had happened not too long ago. Morgan had been playing under her daddy’s desk at his office, since she had built her first robot with the help of Peter and the leftovers of his most recent science project. Morgan had been extremely excited to show it to her daddy, since he always seemed incredibly proud of her big brother when he built something, so she wanted to give it a shot too since she had noticed her daddy looking very sad lately, and she wanted to do something to make him happy. The little golden and red robot was called Iron Man, and he was meant to be daddy’s new best friend, to keep him safe and happy when Morgan and Peter weren’t around him._

_So when the door of her daddy’s office opened, she grinned and was about to jump from under the desk to surprise him, when she heard a second voice following daddy inside. She immediately hid again and placed a little hand on her mouth, and over Iron Man’s metallic mouth too, for good measure. If he was in a meeting, she knew better than to interrupt._

_“I already told you I don’t want this anymore, dad. He’s been cheating on me for the past _month_!” Her daddy said, sounding very upset and also surprising Morgan._

_Grandpa was visiting? But grandpa never visited. In fact, Morgan had never even met him. She felt excitement bubble inside of her and she seriously considered proceeding with her idea of jumping out and surprising both of them, when grandpa’s angry voice boomed from behind the desk and startled her._

_“Don’t come with this again, boy. You know very well why you and Tiberius need to remain together, so don’t even think of breaking things up with him. I need him to keep this company standing.”_

_Morgan frowned. Why grandpa was being mean to daddy?_

_“For god’s sake, everything with you is about this damn company. Will it fucking hurt you to put my happiness first for once in your life?” Her daddy complained back, causing grandpa to scoff._

_“It’s your own fault you are in this situation. You disgraced our name and the image of the company after that cheap harlot left you in shambles, which is already disgraceful by itself. We are Stark men, Anthony. We are made of iron, and your reaction to her betrayal was extremely pathetic.”_

_Her daddy chuckled humorlessly, “Well, I’m fucking sorry if I lost it after a woman I loved for 5 whole years left me with a newborn because she just wanted our stupid money, but you sure aren’t one to talk when you barely held yourself together when mom died.”_

_“You watch your tongue, Anthony!” Granpa exploded._

_“Fuck off with your hypocrisy, dad!” Her daddy exploded back, sounding distressed in a way she had never heard before, “And Tiberius might be a good businessman for his own company, but you have no idea if he’ll be good to ours. Hell, he might be planning to destroy us from inside out, for all we know!”_

_“Don’t be ridiculous Anthony, Tiberius is not plotting against us, he’s a good man and will lead Stark Industries to a path of success once I’m dead. I know what I’m doing.”_

_Her daddy laughed, “Like you knew with Obie?”_

_There was the loud noise of glass shattering, and her grandpa’s furious voice followed, “Don’t you dare, Anthony!”_

_“Don’t I dare what? Say that you made a fucking mistake placing my half of the company on the hands of that lunatic? Well, sorry to break it to you,_ Howard, _but your ol’ drinking buddy was a nut-job, and you gave him the power to do what he wanted!”_

_“And whose fault was that, Anthony?!” Grandpa yelled back, “If you hadn’t been the weakling I always feared you’d turn out to be, then I wouldn’t need to trust Obadiah as I did! The deaths he caused during his rule of the company are in _your _hands, boy, so you better lower that tone with me.”_

_“I cannot believe you are doing this right now.”_

_“If you are not man enough to accept your own mistakes, don’t even try to point out my own!” Grandpa grounded out, causing Morgan to start feeling rather angry. Why was he being so mean to daddy?! “In fact, you are not even really a man, are you?” Laughter. “Such a disappointment.”_

_“Really? Are you going to bring my sexuality into this?”_

_“Well, how can I not?! Aren’t you complaining you aren’t satisfied with the partner I found for you? Well, my boy, I accepted your questionable life choices by choosing a son-in-law who is at least competent and will do well to my legacy, since you clearly won’t give me grandchildren to inherit as you should.”_

_“What?!” Daddy yelped in disbelief, “What the hell are you talking about? You _have _grandchildren! Two brilliant ones, in fact!”_

_Grandpa chuckled dryly, “You mean the orphan you pitied and the daughter of that backstabbing whore? They are not my grandchildren, Anthony. I’d never trust any of them with the fate of my precious company, don’t be ridiculous.”_

_Morgan widened her eyes and hugged Iron Man closer to her chest, eyes sparkling with tears as sadness struck her like a tidal wave. Grandpa hated her and big brother? Is that why he never visited?_

_“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Daddy questioned, voice shaky and pained, “They are kids, _my _kids, you can’t just decide they are not worthy of our legacy because of where they came from or who one of their parent was, now _that _is ridiculous. And what are you even saying, ‘choosing_’ _a son-in-law?! I hate to burst your bubble, but these are not the 1500’s anymore, you don’t get to dictate who I get or not to be with, Howard, so if I say I want Tiberius out of my life, then that’s what’s going to happen!_”

_“You are NOT breaking up with Tiberius, Anthony. After you lost your head about that damn woman I do not trust you to lead this company, so you _will _marry Tiberius and _he _will conduct things once I’m gone, are we understood?”_

_“Again, all you care about it’s this stupid company! What about me? What about what I need? Do you have any idea of what I go through with that man? Do we even know if he’s not dangerous to my children, YOUR grandchildren? What the hell, dad!”_

_“I’ll warn you again, watch your tongue, Anthony. It’s this ‘stupid company’ that makes you a billionaire, and keeps those damn brats of yours in a comfortable and secure life.” Grandpa growled, and Morgan heard her daddy gasp as realization seemed to dawn on him, “That’s right, boy. Either you obey me and stay as you are, or I’m disowning you. I can still do that while I’m still alive, and if you lose this fortune, you’ll be seen as unfit to raise those kids and also will be unable to keep building your stupid projects. So either obey, or forget you ever even were a Stark in the first place!”_

_Morgan widened her eyes, tears streaming down her face in horror. Her grandfather was a monster!_

_There was a moment of silence, and then grandpa was speaking again, “Nothing to say huh? Good. I don’t care about what kind of partner Tiberius is. What matters is that he remains by your side so this company may have a future, so suck it up and deal with this like the man you were supposed to be if you weren’t a damn aberration. God, your mother would be so disappointed. It’s ridiculous.”_

_There was a long pregnant pause, and then, “Get out.”_

_“What?” Grandpa chuckled, “You are kicking me out? Don’t be foolish, Anthony. If you end things with Tiberius, then you’ll have to raise those damn brats under a bridge, you understand me? Ever wondered how would it be to be poor and pathetic like that little friend of yours?” He laughed, louder this time, “What was his name again? Can’t bother to remember.”_

_Another sharp noise of glass shattering, and her daddy was screaming again, “I SAID GET OUT.”_

_Grandpa huffed, apparently walking towards the door given the footsteps and slamming it behind him on his way out. There was silence for a moment, until the sound of sobs invaded the room and her daddy’s cries grew louder and louder, causing Morgan to cry silently where she sat along with him._

_She doesn’t know how long she stayed sitting there, but she only moved when the sobs and sniffs died out, and once she peeked from behind the desk and saw that her daddy went silent because he had passed out on the comforter chair with an empty glass tightly clutched in his hand, she finally got out from under the desk and approached him with a heavy heart._

_There were tear tracks on his cheeks, and even asleep, he seemed exhausted. Morgan bit her lip, looking down to Iron Man, who blankly stared up to her with his glowing blueish eyes in an almost sorrowful way - if robots could have feelings, anyway._

_She kissed the helmet of the robot and carefully placed him on her daddy’s lap before going out, hoping that Iron Man would fulfil his task of protecting and making daddy happy, since he needed that more than ever right now._

Mary stared at her with wide eyes as Morgan finished, and she couldn’t help but to feel somewhat ashamed. She shouldn’t have heard that conversation in the first place, and now she was bothering Mary with it...

Mary, who suddenly jumped out of the swing and took her hand, walking away pulling her along, “Come.”

“Huh? What?” Morgan asked in confusion as Mary dragged her towards their daddies, “Mary, what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, just follow my lead.”

Morgan didn’t have time to question what she meant, since the next thing she knew they were standing by their daddies and Mary was startling them out of one of those weird trances they got into when they were looking at each other.

“Daddy!” Mary called out, causing both to look at them in surprise.

“Oh, hey pumpkin. Are you two done playing?” Mr. Steve asked with a pretty smile, and the sorrow Morgan had been feeling suddenly lifted.

Mr. Steve was so warm in a way, warm like the sun. It was amazing!

“Actually, we are tired of the playground... but I don’t want to go home yet, it’s the first time I ever made a friend.” Mary declared, taking a hold of Morgan’s hand and looking at her, “Right, Morgan?”

Morgan stared at her expectant look for a second, and then she remembered. _Follow my lead._

“Yeah!” She agreed, looking back at their daddies, “We want to spend more time together.”

Her daddy smiled softly, “That’s nice, kiddo. I was wondering when you’d finally find a friend.”

“Yes!” Mary nodded excitedly, “So, I was thinking, can we go bowling? It’s not far from here, and you promised you’d take me anyway this weekend, daddy.”

Mr. Steve blinked, clearly surprised by the sudden request, “Uh, I don’t see why not,” he then turned to her daddy, seeming cautious, “what do you think, Tony?”

Her daddy’s expression immediately went from soft to unsure, “I don’t know, girls. It’s still school day tomorrow, and I’m sure Morgan is tired-”

“I’m not!” Morgan immediately denied, earning a raised brow from her daddy, “I swear, daddy! And didn’t big brother say he would spend the night at his friend’s house today? It’s the perfect opportunity!”

“Pleaaaase Mr. Stark,” Mary whined.

“Pretty pleaaaase,” Morgan echoed.

He looked from one girl to another, seeming distraught. When he looked back at Mr. Steve, he was smiling that pretty smile of his, and Morgan was sure she noticed her daddy’s face become pink.

“Yeah, Tony,” Mr. Steve cocked his head to the side, “pretty please?”

Her daddy stared at Mr. Steve in disbelief, then groaned loudly and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

“For crying out loud- fine! But no sweets! I’m not dealing with two six year olds on a sugar rush, missies.”

The girls cheered and threw their little fists in the air, triumph clear in their faces while Morgan’s daddy laughed and Mr. Steve stared at him, dazzling smile on his lips as he looked at Morgan’s daddy like he was the most breathtaking sight he had ever laid eyes on.

Mary poked and then winked at her, subtly gesturing with her head to them. Morgan smiled brightly and nodded. This could work. It could really, really work!

Morgan then turned back to Mary, only to watch her mouth move and form the words: _I got you covered._

The little girl’s eyes watered as an overwhelming feeling of gratitude overcame her, and the only response Morgan could muster was to hug her new friend as tight as possible and whisper, “_Thank you so much._”


End file.
